


Yeah, it hurts to say, but I want you to stay

by emmalinerosette



Series: Take Your Time Coming Home [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Biological Weapons, Chemical Weapons, F/F, Female Bucky Barnes, Female Steve Rogers, Female Tony Stark, Flashbacks, Gen, Hurt Steve, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Kinda, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Bucky Barnes, Sickfic, girlverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 09:32:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1977837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmalinerosette/pseuds/emmalinerosette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stella, Natasha, and Toni are trying to thwart a three-pronged sarin gas attack in the subways. Toni and Natasha manage just fine, but Stella runs into problems. Luckily, she has a guardian assassin.</p><p>Now Toni and Natasha have to find their dumb, heroic team leader deep sigh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yeah, it hurts to say, but I want you to stay

**Author's Note:**

> title from Someday by The Strokes
> 
> Bucky experiences a flashback and implies a past participation in prostitution, but it is not explicit. Flashback is short-lived.

Stella’s muscles burned as she ran, pushing the limits of her speed while jumping over and dodging around civilians. She grabbed a doorjamb, using her momentum to swing into the room containing the ventilation system for the New York subway.  
“Aerosol secured,” said Natasha over the comm link.  
“That just leaves you, Cap,” said Toni.  
A hiss began to Stella’s left. She typed the activation code into the containment device she held under one arm even as she ran towards the sound.  
“Captain, come in.”  
The cloud of vaporized nerve agent rose around Stella as she slammed the container over the dispersing device.  
“Captain!”  
“Aerosol,” Stella coughed, “Aerosol released momentarily, secure now.”  
Stella fell to her knees, spluttering.  
“Stella, antidote. Now. I’m on my way.”  
“I’m closer, Stark.”  
“Yeah, and I’m faster, so let’s both get a move on.”  
While her teammates argued, Stella pulled an autoinjector out of her utility pocket. Her fingers were completely numb and bumbling. Convulsions seized her body and the syringe of Atropine skittered out of reach.  
As Stella’s air stopped and her vision narrowed to black, she did not see her life flash before her eyes. She did, however, see a pair of worn, black combat boots.

***

“What do you mean, she’s missing.”  
“She’s not in there.”  
“We heard her collapse from sarin poisoning and you mean to tell me she’s not in there?”  
“If you want to put on a hazmat suit and go check in there yourself, Romanoff, feel free, but I’m telling you, the Captain is not in there.”  
“Well, where could she have gone, Stark?”

***

Stella woke herself up coughing. She coughed so long and hard that she felt dizzy with it. A glass of water was pressed to her lips when she stopped. She drank without sparing a glance for the person holding the glass. Her lungs felt like she had swallowed red hot coals.  
“I have cough drops.”  
Stella’s eyes went wide as she looked at her rescuer.  
“Bucky?”  
“They probably won’t help though.”  
The other woman’s hair was even longer than the last time Stella had seen her, well past her shoulders now. It hung in wet, curling tendrils, dripping onto her olive t-shirt. Bucky wasn’t the only one dripping though.  
“Did you bathe me?”  
“Standard procedure following exposure to sarin.”  
“Right.”  
“I had to destroy our clothes, too.” Bucky paused. “Sorry.”  
“That’s uh,” Stella coughed. “That’s okay, Buck.”  
“I didn’t have replacements for both of us.”  
Stella peaked under the blanket tucked around her. “So it seems.”  
Stella fell into a coughing fit again. The coughing turned to heaving and Bucky produced a bowl. Guts thoroughly emptied, Stella groaned and laid back, exhausted. As she gave in to sleep, she felt a cool hand across her forehead.

***

“I have completed my review of the security footage pertaining to Captain Rogers, ma’am.”  
“And?”  
“I fear my results are inconclusive. There was severe degradation of the footage which I was unable to correct.”  
“JARVIS, I know you’re building this up to impress Agent Romanoff with your brilliance so get to the point.”  
“Ma’am, I’m sure I am doing no such thing. However, I did manage to retrieve these three frames which may offer a clue as to what happened to Captain Rogers.”  
“Well, Natasha?”  
“That’s her. The Winter Soldier.”

***

“My team’s going to be looking for me,” Stella said while Bucky dabbed at her sweaty face. She was covered in sweat.  
“We can afford the medicine if I pick up a few extra hours at the dock.”  
Stella strained to get a look at Bucky’s eyes, downcast and hidden behind her hair.  
“Bucky, you don’t have to--”  
“Relax, not those kinds of hours. The kind where I trick the foreman into thinking I’m a guy so I can stack crates.” Bucky met Stella’s look, eyes bright but pleading.  
“No, I just mean that--”  
“No arguments. Save your strength, punk.”  
Stella huffed, but gave up snapping her friend out of whatever kind of flashback she was having.  
“I need to use the bathroom.”  
Bucky helped her up, following her into the bathroom to make sure Stella was safely slumped on the toilet before giving her a little privacy. The flush signaled Bucky the all clear and she collected Stella, throwing her right arm around Stella’s middle, supporting her weight.  
“I’m cold, Bucky, lie down with me,” said Stella, catching hold of Bucky’s fingers as she tried to leave, having returned Stella to the bed.  
Bucky hesitated a second, then laid down on top of the covers next to Stella.  
“Your team is going to be looking for you.”  
Stella forced herself to wake up enough to look at Bucky. Whatever flashback she had been having was gone and whoever Bucky was now without the memories was staring back at her.  
“Come back with me?”  
“You’re my mission.”  
Stella knew she ought to work up the energy to react badly to that, but she was sweaty and dizzy and nauseous and so weak. “Saving my life is a funny way to accomplish your mission.”  
“My mission is to protect you.”  
“Bucky.”  
“I can’t come with you. You aren’t safe yet.”  
Stella sighed, but nodded. “Well, at least warm me up until you have to leave, okay?”  
Bucky nodded and Stella turned on her side so Bucky could cozy up behind her, slipping her right arm around Stella’s waist. Bucky’s breath was warm on the back of her neck as Stella struggled to stay awake, to remember every moment of this.

***

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We’re here to rescue you.”  
Stella cracked an eye open. Toni stood over her, face-plate withdrawn but otherwise in the suit. Natasha kept watch from the doorway. On an impulse, Stella reached across the bed to where Bucky had laid. The covers were still warm.  
“You’re late to the rescue part of the rescue.”  
“Yeah, well.”  
“Lucky for us you have personal backup,” said Natasha, arching an eyebrow.  
“Lucky us,” Stella said.


End file.
